Emotionally Surviving the Holidays: Dealing with Family, Lying and Loss

The holidays offer many reasons to be anxious and stressed. There are office parties, last-minute gifts, crowded malls and social pressures. But for a lot of us, the biggest source of holiday stress is family -- the dinner, the obligations, the conversations. As the holidays approach, some of us may be preparing ourselves for potentially uncomfortable, awkward or even unsafe situations that may happen when you get together with family. What do you do when you can't be yourself around the people you're supposed to love the most? What if the one person you relied on most for your comfort and tradition is no longer with you? With holiday family reunions right around the corner, what are some ways that you can prepare yourself to cope and really enjoy the spirit of the season?